I haven't actually navigated with a paper map in a decade. I still like to look at them though. I was given a road map of Mexico for Christmas. I hope to drive there someday.
In rural areas they share the same towers. Parts of the west you won't get a signal for two hours or more in the middle of no where regardless of which carriers you have.Then yes-GPS is your best bet.We carry a 50-state road atlas with us and will sometimes go to AAA to get state-specific maps. In general, we carry our phones (each on separate carriers), and a stand-alone GPS for when we're out in the boonies with no cell signal.
This wouldn't have all the roads now in Arizona, Colorado, and Utah to name a few.I do occasionally. I carry a 2005-era Rand McNally Road Atlas in a vehicle or two, it's usually stuck between the center console and passenger seat...
I'll generally always pull up Google Maps and study the route and areas around where I'm going if I haven't been there. Pre-planning, if you will.
I hardly ever use "GPS" and I cannot stand listening to it. I despise riding with someone who uses it to literally drive across the road. I hate the distraction it is to most people on the roads today. They simply can't and won't drive anywhere without it. It causes a lot of issues- 1. It's not always up to the second with you. And these people are in the far left lane and they need to turn right....they basically stop in a lane of travel until they can make their way to the right to keep on going. They tell people to "stay left" .... and they do. For 36 miles. They don't teach anyone HOW TO GET AROUND. Nobody knows how to get anywhere, nobody knows alternate routes/paths. Nobody knows where a road goes to. They just drive on it until Siri or some other imbecile on their phone tells'em where to turn.
I'll say this - your friends sound like real winners. I'd be distancing myself from them if they laughed at me, my experience and time invested into making their trip a better experience. I hope they use your wisdom and materials. If they come home and try to thank you, I'd be making myself scarce.
My wife and I went to Ohau for the first (and only so far) time in 2008. A co-worker of both us at the time grew up in Hawaii and still knew all about Ohau. He HAND SKETCHED a perfect, scaled map of the Island and major roads with all the sights, restaurants and other "to do" and "must do" places/things/items. It was on an 8-1/2 x 11 piece of copy paper. We took it with us, brought it home and still to this day marvel over how accurate the map was and everything he managed to note on there. He is an Architect with 40+ years of experience, tho....
Anyway, the country isn't smarter for all the technology we have today. We have too large of a population that grew up with it and don't have a clue how to get along without it. Nor understand how to appreciate it or use it.
That's everyone I work with. I need to send a crew to a jobsite at "southwest corner of 71st Street & Pulaski" (just to make up an example) and they can't even fathom how to get there. Which direction to go, which highway to take, where to exit.... And of course they need an address to put into their GPS, or they won't be able to find it at all. Google maps is notoriously bad with new construction, so usually I'll just make up an address; say for example 7100 South Pulaski. It'll get them there, albeit they might wind up on the wrong side of the street.I hate the distraction it is to most people on the roads today. They simply can't and won't drive anywhere without it. It causes a lot of issues- 1. It's not always up to the second with you. And these people are in the far left lane and they need to turn right....they basically stop in a lane of travel until they can make their way to the right to keep on going. They tell people to "stay left" .... and they do. For 36 miles. They don't teach anyone HOW TO GET AROUND. Nobody knows how to get anywhere, nobody knows alternate routes/paths. Nobody knows where a road goes to. They just drive on it until Siri or some other imbecile on their phone tells'em where to turn.
Probably the same number that read a newspaper. We know you're out there.
This wouldn't have all the roads now in Arizona, Colorado, and Utah to name a few.